At a school district in Brandywine, Delaware, a collective bargaining agreement was reached between the district and the preventative maintenance employees.
“One specific item agreed upon was professional ongoing training paid for by the district. Once an employee becomes professionally licensed, they will receive an additional stipend in their paycheck, which can be between three and four percent, depending on the year.”
This stipend encourages employees to become skilled in a variety of areas within their job scope so that they can perform better, stay safer, and be happier with the new pay enhancement.
Skilled vs Unskilled
Statistics show that employees who are professionally skilled are less likely to have accidents on the job. By giving these employees a pay raise, or some sort of recognition, the employee is motivated to get the training they need to not only advance in the company but to do their job better as well. Not every maintenance department is able to offer a pay incentive, but it certainly makes sense.
Track Progress
One way to keep track of your employees, their job duties and their skill set, is to use a Work Order Management System from Maintenance Care. This program allows the facility manager to schedule tasks and then monitor the jobs so you can confirm the completion, when it was done, and by whom. Having the ability to run reports, keep records, schedule preventative maintenance and daily maintenance tasks, all within one simple to use program, makes your job as a facility manager much easier.
“Executive Director for Human Resources in Brandywine, Kim Doherty, explained the key point that lead to a relatively quick agreement with district employees, who work in facilities and transportation. Keeping our employees safe is a priority, not only for them but for us," noted Doherty. "So I think that's something we were interested in doing more of."
Read More: Setting Boundaries
Regardless how big or small your facility is, by combining trained employees with an easy to use Work Order Management System, your maintenance department will run more efficiently and much safer.
.svg){kind=small}